WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.899 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. Today is Thursday, 00:00:02.100 --> 00:00:07.120 February 5th, 2026. We are opening a file today 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.880 that I think for a huge percentage of the population 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:12.619 feels like it was closed, sealed, and archived 00:00:12.619 --> 00:00:15.419 a generation ago. Oh, for sure. It's a story 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:17.500 that really defines a specific era of American 00:00:17.500 --> 00:00:19.859 culture. But as we're going to find out, the 00:00:19.859 --> 00:00:22.059 book isn't just sitting on a shelf gathering 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:25.339 dust. It is very much being rewritten. It really 00:00:25.339 --> 00:00:27.280 is. And frankly, if you have been tracking the 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:29.260 court dockets in California over the last 18 00:00:29.260 --> 00:00:31.140 months, I'm talking specifically that window 00:00:31.140 --> 00:00:35.539 from early 2024 through the summer of 2025. you 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:38.679 know that this specific file is actually radioactive. 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:41.640 It is very much active. We are talking, of course, 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:44.560 about the disappearance and murder of Lacey Peterson. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:46.700 Now, I know what you're thinking. For the listeners 00:00:46.700 --> 00:00:50.000 who were around in 2002 and 2003, this name alone 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:53.439 probably triggers a very visceral memory. You 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:55.439 remember the magazine covers in the grocery store 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:57.460 checkout line. You remember the rolling news 00:00:57.460 --> 00:00:59.659 tickers on CNN. You remember the perfect American 00:00:59.659 --> 00:01:01.920 couple narrative that was just absolutely shattered. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:04.480 It's the prototype. It really is sort of the 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:07.599 foundational case for the modern 24 hour true 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:10.120 crime cycle. It is the template. I often tell 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:12.840 people if you want to understand Gone Girl or 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:15.439 the way we consume the Watts case or the Idaho 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.500 murders, you have to go back to Modesto in 2002. 00:01:18.859 --> 00:01:22.099 Right. This was the patient zero of Trial by 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:25.120 Media. It really established the rules of engagement 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:27.260 for how the public interacts with a high profile 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:29.760 investigation. But our mission today isn't to 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:32.420 rehash the Nancy Grace commentary or, you know, 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:34.760 all the sensationalism. We aren't here to play 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.340 the good guy, bad guy media game. No. We have 00:01:37.340 --> 00:01:39.700 pulled the source material, the court transcripts, 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:42.819 the appeal rulings, the forensic logs, and specifically 00:01:42.819 --> 00:01:45.379 the recent filings from the Los Angeles Innocence 00:01:45.379 --> 00:01:47.329 Project. Yes. We want to look at the nuts and 00:01:47.329 --> 00:01:49.269 bolts. We want to understand the timeline, the 00:01:49.269 --> 00:01:53.090 specific granular evidence, and why in 2026 we 00:01:53.090 --> 00:01:55.209 are still debating a piece of duct tape. And 00:01:55.209 --> 00:01:58.560 that is the key. We are going to move past the 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:01.079 emotional narrative and look at the sort of the 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:03.500 engineering of the conviction. Because when you 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:05.840 strip away the media circus, this case is actually 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:08.979 a masterclass in the complexity of circumstantial 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:12.259 evidence. How do you prove a murder when you 00:02:12.259 --> 00:02:14.520 don't have a weapon? Right. How do you prove 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:16.919 a murder when you don't have a definitive cause 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:19.699 of death? It really is a puzzle. And I have to 00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:21.639 say, going through these notes and the research 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:24.060 provided, there are details here that completely 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:26.400 blew my mind. Things I had either forgotten or 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:29.199 never knew in the first place. We're going to 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.139 talk about a meringue recipe on The Martha Stewart 00:02:32.139 --> 00:02:35.159 Show that became a massive legal battlefield. 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:37.960 Which is just wild when you think about it. But 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:40.259 it turned out to be a surprisingly pivotal piece 00:02:40.259 --> 00:02:42.560 of evidence regarding memory and credibility. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:45.819 And we're going to talk about the chemistry of 00:02:45.819 --> 00:02:48.360 concrete used for a driveway versus concrete 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:50.620 used for boat anchors. Yeah. The concrete is 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:52.860 a whole rabbit hole. And we're going to unpack 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:56.120 a conversation about being a widower that took 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:59.680 place weeks before the murder. That widower conversation. 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:03.099 I mean, frankly, that is the psychological anchor 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:05.500 of the entire prosecution. For sure. It's the 00:03:05.500 --> 00:03:07.699 moment where the motive stops being abstract 00:03:07.699 --> 00:03:10.840 and becomes terrifyingly concrete. But before 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:13.219 we get to the end, we need to set the baseline. 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:15.719 We need to understand who these people were before 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:18.379 the world knew their names. Right. Because the 00:03:18.379 --> 00:03:20.680 tragedy only lands if you understand the facade, 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:23.840 the American tragedy narrative. It relies on 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:27.150 the idea that everything looked perfect. So let's 00:03:27.150 --> 00:03:30.930 go back to late 2002, Modesto, California. The 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:33.090 Central Valley. It's agricultural. It's tight 00:03:33.090 --> 00:03:34.789 knit. It's the kind of place where people know 00:03:34.789 --> 00:03:37.150 their neighbors. Exactly. And you have Lacey 00:03:37.150 --> 00:03:40.409 and Scott Peterson. On the surface, if you were 00:03:40.409 --> 00:03:43.389 casting a movie about the American dream, you 00:03:43.389 --> 00:03:46.259 would cast them. 100%. They are young, they're 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:48.479 attractive, they're upwardly mobile. They've 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:50.520 got the bungalow on Covina Avenue, the golden 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:53.099 retriever named McKenzie, and they are expecting 00:03:53.099 --> 00:03:56.139 their first child. A baby boy. Due date, February 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:58.539 10, 2003. They had already picked out the name, 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:02.060 Connor. Lacey was eight months pregnant. And 00:04:02.060 --> 00:04:04.300 to understand the shockwave of her disappearance, 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:07.960 you have to understand her personality. The sources 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:12.080 describe Lacey Denise Rocha as just a force of 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:15.659 nature. She wasn't just... Nice. She was vibrant. 00:04:15.939 --> 00:04:18.120 She was the center of gravity for her family, 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:20.839 a real planner, and she was a local girl through 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:23.939 and through. She grew up visiting her father's 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:27.079 dairy farm west of Escalon. Right. She wasn't 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:29.639 just from the area. She was of the area. She 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:31.860 understood the land. In fact, she majored in 00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:35.259 ornamental horticulture at Cal Poly. She was 00:04:35.259 --> 00:04:38.560 deeply connected to this idea of growth, of home, 00:04:38.620 --> 00:04:40.939 of family. And the notes mention she was really 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:43.300 striving for that, you know, perfect housewife. 00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:46.040 ideal and i don't mean that in a derogatory way 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:48.160 at all no no it was her passion she genuinely 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:50.220 loved entertaining she was an incredible cook 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:52.800 she was a massive fan of martha stewart she took 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.420 real pride in creating a beautiful home which 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:57.779 again sounds like a throwaway character detail 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:00.240 but that martha stewart fandom becomes a critical 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:02.600 piece of evidence regarding the timeline of her 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:04.740 death it's amazing it's fascinating how these 00:05:04.740 --> 00:05:07.500 mundane habits what shows we watch what recipes 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:10.839 we try become forensic data points in a murder 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:14.410 investigation then we have scott Scott Peterson. 00:05:14.990 --> 00:05:17.670 And here's where it gets really interesting for 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:20.050 me, because I did not know about his background 00:05:20.050 --> 00:05:22.750 in sports. It's a significant part of his psychology, 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:26.029 I think. Scott was an only child of Lee and Jackie 00:05:26.029 --> 00:05:28.089 Peterson, though they both had children from 00:05:28.089 --> 00:05:31.029 previous relationships. He grew up in San Diego, 00:05:31.189 --> 00:05:33.610 in La Jolla, sharing a room with his half -brother. 00:05:33.949 --> 00:05:36.949 But his identity was golf. Yeah, this blew my 00:05:36.949 --> 00:05:39.649 mind. He wasn't just a hobby golfer, he was a 00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:41.949 prodigy. I mean, he was beating his dad by age 00:05:41.949 --> 00:05:44.870 14. Oh, yeah. And get this. He was teammates 00:05:44.870 --> 00:05:47.129 with Phil Mickelson in high school at the University 00:05:47.129 --> 00:05:49.310 of San Diego High School. With Phil Mickelson? 00:05:49.490 --> 00:05:52.389 Yep. That puts you in a very specific tier of 00:05:52.389 --> 00:05:55.050 talent. If you are playing alongside Phil Mickelson, 00:05:55.230 --> 00:05:59.350 you are in the top, what, 0 .01 % of junior golfers? 00:05:59.470 --> 00:06:01.850 That's incredible. So he was recruited to Arizona 00:06:01.850 --> 00:06:03.930 State University, which is a powerhouse golf 00:06:03.930 --> 00:06:06.949 school, on a partial golf scholarship. He had 00:06:06.949 --> 00:06:10.350 legitimate dreams of going pro. But. Those dreams 00:06:10.350 --> 00:06:13.709 derailed. And the reason why is. Yeah. Well, 00:06:13.790 --> 00:06:15.449 it sort of paints a picture of his personality, 00:06:15.689 --> 00:06:17.589 doesn't it? It really does. The source material 00:06:17.589 --> 00:06:20.470 notes he was kicked off the team at Arizona State. 00:06:21.050 --> 00:06:24.370 Why? What happened? He took a potential recruit, 00:06:24.610 --> 00:06:27.269 a guy named Chris Couchout, for a night of drinking. 00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:29.769 The recruit's father complained to the coach 00:06:29.769 --> 00:06:32.769 and Scott was out. Just like that. Wow. So it's 00:06:32.769 --> 00:06:34.629 that first crack in the Golden Boy image. He 00:06:34.629 --> 00:06:37.470 has this. talent, this huge opportunity, and 00:06:37.470 --> 00:06:41.009 he blows it due to a lack of judgment or maybe 00:06:41.009 --> 00:06:42.810 a sense of entitlement. I think that's a good 00:06:42.810 --> 00:06:45.370 way to put it. So he transfers to Cal Poly, which 00:06:45.370 --> 00:06:47.949 is where he eventually meets Lacey. But even 00:06:47.949 --> 00:06:50.350 there, he reconstructs this image of perfection. 00:06:50.810 --> 00:06:53.910 He was a chameleon. And people bought it. Completely. 00:06:54.009 --> 00:06:57.089 His professors at Cal Poly loved him. One is 00:06:57.089 --> 00:06:58.930 quoted in the file saying, I wouldn't mind a 00:06:58.930 --> 00:07:00.670 class full of Scott Petersons. Unbelievable. 00:07:00.949 --> 00:07:03.629 He was a model student in agribusiness. He graduates, 00:07:03.850 --> 00:07:05.990 gets a good job in fertilizers, working for a 00:07:05.990 --> 00:07:08.970 European company called Trade Corp USA, earning 00:07:08.970 --> 00:07:12.290 $5 ,000 a month. On paper, he is the success 00:07:12.290 --> 00:07:14.569 story. So they meet at a restaurant in Morro 00:07:14.569 --> 00:07:18.000 Bay, where Scott worked. And Lacey... She made 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:20.199 the first move. She sends him her number. They 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:22.600 open a burger joint called The Shack. They sell 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.459 it. They move to Modesto, buy a bungalow for 00:07:25.459 --> 00:07:30.220 $177 ,000. It sounds idyllic. It does. But there 00:07:30.220 --> 00:07:32.160 were cracks in the armor. And this is classic 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.819 in these types of cases. The image didn't match 00:07:34.819 --> 00:07:37.240 the reality. The finances. Right. They were living 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:39.740 beyond their means. The sources point out they 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:43.160 had about $23 ,000 in credit card debt. That's 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:46.300 a lot. It is. Now, to be fair, Scott did have 00:07:46.300 --> 00:07:48.300 available credit, so they weren't destitute. 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:52.259 But the pressure was there. $23 ,000 is a significant 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:54.300 weight when you have a mortgage and a baby on 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:56.699 the way. And then there's the infidelity. We 00:07:56.699 --> 00:07:58.699 all know about Amber Frey. And we'll definitely 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:01.360 get to her. But the prosecutors revealed later 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:04.000 that this wasn't the first time. Correct. There 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.060 was an affair early in the marriage when they 00:08:06.060 --> 00:08:09.500 lived in Prunedale. So you have a pattern established. 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:12.060 You've got this foundation. Exactly. You have 00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:14.800 financial pressure, a baby on the way, which 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:16.980 represents a massive responsibility and, you 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:19.279 know, a loss of freedom and a history of stepping 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:22.379 out on the marriage. That is the powder keg sitting 00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:25.259 in that bungalow on December 24th. So what does 00:08:25.259 --> 00:08:27.779 this all mean for that specific day? Let's walk 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:31.319 through the timeline of Christmas Eve 2002. This 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:33.740 is the timeline that the entire case rests on. 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.840 It's a timeline of minutes, really. Scott's narrative, 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:39.259 the story he told police from day one, was that 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:43.019 he last saw Lassie at roughly 9 .30 a .m. Okay, 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:46.720 9 .30. He said she was watching TV, specifically 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.200 Martha Stewart Living. And he recalled a very 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:51.600 specific detail. She was watching a segment on 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:53.840 meringue. He says she was planning to mop the 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:55.679 floor, bake cookies, and then take their dog, 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:57.840 Mackenzie, for a walk in the park. Okay, a normal 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.639 morning. Scott, meanwhile, decides to go fishing 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:04.179 on Christmas Eve. Which struck many as odd, but 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:06.659 not impossible. He drives to the Berkeley Marina. 00:09:07.139 --> 00:09:09.919 That is 90 miles away from Modesto. 90 miles? 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:12.399 That's not a quick trip. Not at all. He claims 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:14.399 he was fishing for sturgeon. Now, you've mentioned 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:16.620 before that sturgeon fishing isn't exactly a 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:21.269 quick trip activity. It absolutely isn't. Sturgeon 00:09:21.269 --> 00:09:23.990 fishing is a game of patience. You are fishing 00:09:23.990 --> 00:09:26.350 on the bottom, usually with bait like ghost shrimp 00:09:26.350 --> 00:09:29.509 or roe. It is slow. So it's not like you just 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:32.490 pop over for an hour. No. To drive 90 miles, 00:09:32.690 --> 00:09:34.809 launch a boat, fish for maybe an hour or two, 00:09:34.870 --> 00:09:36.850 and then drive all the way back, it just doesn't 00:09:36.850 --> 00:09:39.769 make sense to a serious angler. It's a massive 00:09:39.769 --> 00:09:42.429 investment of time and effort for very little 00:09:42.429 --> 00:09:44.789 actual fishing. Okay, so we know he was there, 00:09:44.909 --> 00:09:46.970 or at least in the area, because of cell tower 00:09:46.970 --> 00:09:49.620 data and the marina ticket. Right. And he leaves 00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:53.360 a message for Lacey at 2 .15 p .m. saying, hey, 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:55.960 beautiful, I'm leaving Berkeley. And that voicemail, 00:09:55.960 --> 00:09:58.399 that becomes crucial for his defense. It's his 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.419 attempt to establish normalcy. Exactly. I'm just 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:03.820 checking in. It's the digital footprint of a 00:10:03.820 --> 00:10:05.820 loving husband. But here is where the timeline 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:09.539 just crashes into reality. The witnesses, specifically 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:13.700 the neighbors and the dog. This is the aha moment 00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:15.539 for the prosecution. This is what blew the case 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:18.220 open for them. A neighbor, Karen Service, finds 00:10:18.220 --> 00:10:20.919 the golden retriever, Mackenzie, wandering alone 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:24.480 outside with a muddy leash. Every time. She testified 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:27.980 she found the dog at 10 .18 a .m. Okay, stop. 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:30.340 Let's do the math. Scott says he leaves at 9 00:10:30.340 --> 00:10:34.149 .30. The dog is found wandering at 10 .18. Exactly. 00:10:34.389 --> 00:10:36.950 That leaves a window of less than 48 minutes 00:10:36.950 --> 00:10:39.350 for Lacey to finish her show, start her chores, 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:42.429 get ready, go for a walk, and then vanish. It's 00:10:42.429 --> 00:10:44.750 nothing. It compresses the timeline incredibly 00:10:44.750 --> 00:10:48.149 tight. If Sky's telling the truth, Lacey was 00:10:48.149 --> 00:10:51.009 abducted almost the second he drove away. And 00:10:51.009 --> 00:10:53.330 there was another neighbor, Mike Chiavetta, who 00:10:53.330 --> 00:10:57.269 saw the dog at 10 .45 a .m. But that service 00:10:57.269 --> 00:11:00.460 sighting at 10 .18? That is the one that really 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:02.639 pinches the tame line. It's the anchor point 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:05.299 for the whole prosecution theory. Now, I want 00:11:05.299 --> 00:11:07.700 to circle back to the meringue because this is 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:10.039 a perfect example of how memory and evidence 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:12.480 fight in court. It's so fascinating. Yes. The 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:14.120 police initially said Scott was lying. They made 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:16.379 a big deal of it. Right. The investigators, they 00:11:16.379 --> 00:11:18.720 checked the broadcast schedule and they claimed 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:20.720 Martha Stewart Living didn't feature meringue 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:23.539 on that day. They used this to say, see, he's 00:11:23.539 --> 00:11:26.019 making it up. His alibi is faulty from the start. 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:29.659 But the defense. led by the, you know, the famous 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:33.399 Mark Garagos, actually pulled the tape. And guess 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:36.379 what? There was a mention of meringue. It was 00:11:36.379 --> 00:11:38.980 a brief segment, but it was there. So Scott was 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:41.899 right about that one detail. On that specific 00:11:41.899 --> 00:11:44.299 detail, yes. And that's what makes this case 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:47.879 so difficult and so compelling. Scott was telling 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:50.000 the truth about the meringue. So what does that 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:51.960 mean? Well, does that mean he was telling the 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:54.580 truth about everything else? Or was it a detail 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:57.620 he anchored his lie to? He knew what was on TV 00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:00.620 when he left, so he used it to validate his presence 00:12:00.620 --> 00:12:03.179 and make the rest of the story seem true. It's 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:06.179 a truthful detail inside a larger lie. Potentially, 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:08.500 that's what the prosecution argued. So Sky gets 00:12:08.500 --> 00:12:11.360 home. He finds the house empty. The dog is in 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.639 the yard. Because the neighbor, Karen Service, 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:15.639 had already put him back. Right. And what does 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:17.539 he do? He eats some leftover pizza. He washes 00:12:17.539 --> 00:12:20.360 his clothes. He takes a shower. Which, again, 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:23.440 people found so strange. Your eight -month pregnant 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:26.120 wife is missing. And you're doing laundry. Well, 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:28.440 context matters. He claims he had been fishing. 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:31.440 He smelled like fish and the bay. So washing 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.779 clothes isn't inherently suspicious. But in hindsight, 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:37.179 prosecutors argued he was destroying evidence. 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:40.720 They argued he was washing away saltwater, silt, 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:43.480 or maybe even, you know, blood or other trace 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:46.320 evidence. Then he calls Sharon Rocha, Lossie's 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:50.419 mom. He asks, is Lissie there? And that is the 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:53.240 moment the alarm bells ring for everyone. Sharon 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:55.700 Rocha knew immediately something was wrong. Lossie 00:12:55.700 --> 00:12:57.620 wouldn't just vanish on Christmas Eve. She was 00:12:57.620 --> 00:13:00.000 too responsible. She was too excited about the 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.720 baby. The police report is filed shortly before 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.610 6 p .m. And the response was massive. I mean, 00:13:05.629 --> 00:13:07.450 I remember the news footage. It felt like the 00:13:07.450 --> 00:13:09.470 entire state of California was looking for her. 00:13:09.509 --> 00:13:12.690 Oh, it was huge. 900 people searching, helicopters, 00:13:13.190 --> 00:13:15.529 dogs, police, fire departments from all over. 00:13:15.570 --> 00:13:17.450 It was an all -hands -on -deck situation. Of 00:13:17.450 --> 00:13:19.250 course. You have to remember, a missing pregnant 00:13:19.250 --> 00:13:21.850 woman is a critical missing case instantly. The 00:13:21.850 --> 00:13:24.149 resources that poured in were just astronomical. 00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:27.149 But the detectives, a guy named Brocchini and 00:13:27.149 --> 00:13:29.730 another named Bueller, they zeroed in on Scott 00:13:29.730 --> 00:13:32.929 pretty fast. Why? What tipped him off? It was 00:13:32.929 --> 00:13:35.110 his demeanor. We hear this a lot in true crime, 00:13:35.210 --> 00:13:37.830 but detectives, they rely on behavioral baselines. 00:13:37.970 --> 00:13:40.929 What a normal person would do. Exactly. And Detective 00:13:40.929 --> 00:13:45.029 Buehler described Scott as calm, cool, and a 00:13:45.029 --> 00:13:48.779 strange combination of polite and arrogant. He 00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:51.139 wasn't acting like a grieving, terrified husband. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.700 He wasn't asking the right questions. Most people 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:56.740 in that situation would be grabbing the detectives 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:59.019 by the lapels, asking, what are you doing? Where 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:00.620 are you searching? Did you check the park? What 00:14:00.620 --> 00:14:02.659 can I do to help? Right. What's the next step? 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:05.100 Scott didn't ask those questions. He was passive. 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:07.179 He would offer them coffee, you know, open the 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:09.220 door. But he wasn't pushing the investigation. 00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:12.919 He was just there. And then the investigation 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:16.259 pivots. It goes from a missing person case with 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:19.759 a strangely calm husband to something much darker 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:22.320 because they find out about the other woman. 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:25.580 The Amber Frey bombshell. This changed everything. 00:14:25.740 --> 00:14:28.000 This gave them a motive. So Amber Frey comes 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:29.820 forward herself, right? But police don't find 00:14:29.820 --> 00:14:32.080 her. She does. She was a massage therapist in 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.799 Fresno. She met Scott in November of 2002. A 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:38.240 friend set them up. And she had absolutely no 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:40.480 idea he was married. He told her he was single. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.259 Yep. So she sees the news reports. She sees her 00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:45.639 new boyfriend's face plastered everywhere as 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:48.360 the husband of this missing pregnant woman. And 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:50.779 she calls the police on December 30th. And she 00:14:50.779 --> 00:14:52.740 agrees to cooperate. She starts recording their 00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:55.379 calls. And those tapes were devastating for the 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:58.820 defense. Utterly devastating. But there is one 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:01.019 specific detail from before she even started 00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:04.299 recording. A detail that I think seals the deal 00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:06.679 for a lot of people regarding premeditation. 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:10.519 The widower lie. Yes. On December 9th, that is 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:13.759 two weeks before Lacey vanishes, Scott is talking 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:17.000 to Amber Frey and he tells her that he is a widower. 00:15:17.259 --> 00:15:19.360 Wait, say that again? He tells her he lost his 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:22.610 wife and he says, quote, This will be the first 00:15:22.610 --> 00:15:25.809 Christmas without my wife. Whoa. Let's just sit 00:15:25.809 --> 00:15:28.210 with that for a second. Lacey is alive. She is 00:15:28.210 --> 00:15:30.070 at home, eight months pregnant with his son. 00:15:30.389 --> 00:15:32.429 And he is telling his mistress that his wife 00:15:32.429 --> 00:15:35.009 is dead and he's facing his first Christmas alone. 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:37.639 It's chilling. It shifts the entire narrative 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:40.440 from a crime of passion or, you know, an argument 00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:42.820 that went horribly wrong to a calculated exit 00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:45.120 strategy. He was already role -playing a life 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:47.559 without Lacey. He was mentally rehearsing his 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:50.220 new reality. He was building the foundation for 00:15:50.220 --> 00:15:53.179 his new life. He was. And then there's the phone 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:56.620 call during the vigil. Oh, this is just, this 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:58.700 is beyond belief. It's painful to listen to. 00:15:58.779 --> 00:16:01.240 There is a candlelight vigil in Modesto for Lacey. 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:04.299 Hundreds of people crying, holding candles, praying 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:08.440 for her safe return. Scott is there. And he calls 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:11.000 Amber Frey from the vigil. And he tells her he's 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.519 where? Paris. I'm near the Eiffel Tower. The 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:15.940 fireworks are going off. He's literally standing 00:16:15.940 --> 00:16:18.740 in a crowd of people mourning his wife, pretending 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:21.399 to be celebrating New Year's in Europe. It showed 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:25.059 a level of detachment and just sheer duplicity 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:27.600 that the jury found impossible to ignore. It's 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:29.919 sociopathic behavior. There's really no other 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:32.139 way to describe that level of deception. It certainly 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:34.460 displays a profound lack of empathy, to say the 00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:37.519 least. So months go by. January, February, March 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:41.580 of 2003. Nobody. no weapon just this mountain 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:44.500 of suspicious behavior and recorded lies and 00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:48.419 then nature takes over april 2003 a massive storm 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:50.519 hits san francisco bay it just churns up the 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:52.039 bottom of the water changes all the currents 00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:54.779 and on april 13th and 14th the grim discovery 00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:57.539 is made a couple walking their dog at point isabel 00:16:57.539 --> 00:17:00.620 regional shoreline finds the body of a male fetus 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:03.940 washed up on the shore that was connor and then 00:17:04.299 --> 00:17:06.200 The next day. The next day, about a mile away, 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:10.140 a jogger spots a female torso in the riprap, 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:12.799 you know, the rocks along the shoreline. That 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:14.920 was Lissy. We have to give a warning here. The 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:17.880 details are graphic, but they are incredibly 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:20.099 important for the forensic evidence in the trial. 00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:23.099 They are. Lissy's body was in a state of advanced 00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:25.980 decomposition. She was missing her head, her 00:17:25.980 --> 00:17:28.920 arms, and most of her legs. Her internal organs 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.940 were gone. Why? Was she dismembered? That was 00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:33.539 the immediate rumor. That was the rumor. But 00:17:33.539 --> 00:17:35.460 Dr. Brian Peterson, the forensic pathologist, 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:37.940 no relation to Scott, he testified that there 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:40.440 were no tool marks on the bones, no saw marks. 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:43.039 So it wasn't a deliberate dismemberment. No. 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:45.720 This was marine activity. The body had been in 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.160 the water for months. The tides, the currents, 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:51.680 the sea life. It had all caused the disarticulation. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:54.779 But the baby, Connor, his body was more intact. 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:58.109 Yes. He had been protected by the uterus for 00:17:58.109 --> 00:18:00.970 a long time. It's a phenomenon called coffin 00:18:00.970 --> 00:18:03.970 birth, where gases from decomposition eventually 00:18:03.970 --> 00:18:06.809 expel the fetus from the body. There was tape 00:18:06.809 --> 00:18:09.150 found on the fetus, right? That becomes important 00:18:09.150 --> 00:18:11.490 later. Yes. Plastic tape was wrapped around the 00:18:11.490 --> 00:18:14.289 fetus's body. Its origin was undetermined at 00:18:14.289 --> 00:18:16.869 the time, but it becomes a huge point of contention 00:18:16.869 --> 00:18:19.809 for the Innocence Project later on. Now, the 00:18:19.809 --> 00:18:23.009 location. Where were these bodies found relative 00:18:23.009 --> 00:18:25.680 to Scott's supposed fishing trip? That's the 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:28.140 clincher. Scott told police he was fishing at 00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:30.700 the Berkeley Marina. The bodies washed up extremely 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:33.359 close to that location. Wow. Expert testimony 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:35.460 on the tides and currents suggested they had 00:18:35.460 --> 00:18:37.900 drifted from exactly where Scott claimed to be. 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:41.579 It was, for the prosecution, the final piece 00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:44.700 of the geographical puzzle. So four days after 00:18:44.700 --> 00:18:47.839 the bodies are identified via DNA, police move 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:51.880 in. April 18, 2003. And the arrest itself is 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:53.940 a piece of evidence. They had been tracking him. 00:18:54.019 --> 00:18:55.660 They were worried he was a flight risk. They 00:18:55.660 --> 00:18:58.339 track him to La Jolla near San Diego. The getaway 00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:00.579 car. That's what it looked like. Scott had dyed 00:19:00.579 --> 00:19:03.359 his hair and beard blonde. He claimed it was 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:05.799 from chlorine in a friend's swimming pool. But 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:08.440 the police weren't buying it. His hair was dark 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:11.700 at the roots. And the contents of the car. It 00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:14.359 wasn't just a gym bag and some golf clubs. No. 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:18.299 He had $15 ,000 in cash. Four different cell 00:19:18.299 --> 00:19:23.000 phones. Camping gear. A water purifier. Survival 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:26.819 equipment. Viagra. And his brother's driver's 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:29.019 license. I mean, you have to ask yourself, if 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:31.140 you are an innocent man grieving your wife and 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:33.579 unborn child, why do you have your brother's 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:36.720 I .D., 15 grand in cash, and a dyed beard? Well, 00:19:36.819 --> 00:19:39.980 Scott's father, Lee, tried to explain it. He 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:42.160 testified that Squint was using the brother's 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.339 I .D. to get a local's discount at the Torrey 00:19:44.339 --> 00:19:46.619 Pines Golf Course. Again, golf is central to 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:48.559 his life. Of course. And that he was living out 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:51.000 of his car to avoid the media circus. That's... 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:53.619 A very charitable interpretation. It is. But 00:19:53.619 --> 00:19:55.599 the prosecution saw it very differently. They 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:57.940 saw a man about to make a run for the Mexican 00:19:57.940 --> 00:20:00.619 border. So we go to trial. The trial of the century 00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:02.500 for that year. It's the battle of the evidence. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:04.500 And you have to remember, the prosecution has 00:20:04.500 --> 00:20:07.079 a huge hurdle. They have no murder weapon. They 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:10.160 don't know how she died. Was she strangled? Smothered. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.660 They think strangled. But they can't prove it 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:14.680 because the head and neck were largely missing 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:16.900 or damaged. So they have to rely on the theory 00:20:16.900 --> 00:20:19.710 of the disposal. The anchors. This is the mechanical 00:20:19.710 --> 00:20:22.349 heart of the prosecution's case. They allege 00:20:22.349 --> 00:20:25.230 Scott strangled Lassie in their home, wrapped 00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:28.450 her in a tarp, put her in his truck, and then 00:20:28.450 --> 00:20:30.549 weighted her body down with homemade concrete 00:20:30.549 --> 00:20:32.690 anchors to keep her on the bottom of the bay. 00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:35.420 He had a warehouse, right. For his fertilizer 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:38.319 job. Yes. And in that warehouse, they found a 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:41.759 90 -pound bag of cement. Scotty admitted he used 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.380 some of it to make one anchor for his boat. Just 00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:46.880 one? Just one. But the prosecution said, where 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:49.359 is the rest of the concrete? They theorized he 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:51.980 made five anchors, one for the boat and four 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:54.940 more for the body. And there was residue, some 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:57.180 kind of physical link. There was cement residue 00:20:57.180 --> 00:20:59.299 on his boat trailer that matched the bucket rings 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:02.109 used to mold the anchors. It painted a picture 00:21:02.109 --> 00:21:04.029 of him manufacturing these weights right before 00:21:04.029 --> 00:21:06.349 he left. What about the hair? I remember a hair 00:21:06.349 --> 00:21:08.730 being a big deal. A single hair. It was found 00:21:08.730 --> 00:21:12.109 on a pair of pliers in Scott's boat. Mitochondrial 00:21:12.109 --> 00:21:14.869 DNA matched it to Lacey or any of her maternal 00:21:14.869 --> 00:21:17.630 relatives. Why is that significant? Well, the 00:21:17.630 --> 00:21:20.210 prosecution argued Lacey had never seen the boat. 00:21:20.509 --> 00:21:23.289 Scott bought it secretly in early December, so 00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:24.869 if her hair is in the boat, it's because her 00:21:24.869 --> 00:21:27.799 body was in the boat. But the defense... Mark 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:31.779 Garagos? He fought back on this. Hard. Vigorously. 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:34.440 He argued that Lacey could have been at the warehouse 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:36.440 and a stray hare could have gotten on the pliers 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:39.339 or in the boat. He also attacked the mitochondrial 00:21:39.339 --> 00:21:42.119 DNA science, saying it's not as precise as nuclear 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:44.779 DNA. It doesn't point to one single person. The 00:21:44.779 --> 00:21:47.519 boat itself, it wasn't some huge yacht. No, it 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:50.420 was a small 14 -foot aluminum fishing boat. A 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:53.539 dinghy, really. Garagos argued it was incredibly 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:56.059 unstable. He basically said if you try to dump 00:21:56.059 --> 00:21:59.339 a 150 -pound body plus weights over the side 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:01.000 of that little boat, you're going to capsize. 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:03.440 He practically dared the jury to believe it was 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:05.319 physically possible. What about the concrete? 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:07.559 Did the defense have an answer for that? They 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:09.980 did. This gets technical, but it's fascinating. 00:22:10.819 --> 00:22:13.039 Sputt claimed he used the rest of the cement 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:15.920 to repair his driveway. The defense brought in 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.240 a concrete expert who analyzed the driveway. 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:20.980 He testified that the concrete in the driveway 00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:23.740 had rock aggregate in it. The one anchor police 00:22:23.740 --> 00:22:26.299 found did not. So there are different mixes. 00:22:26.970 --> 00:22:28.549 That sounds like good evidence for the defense. 00:22:28.809 --> 00:22:31.329 It does. But the expert explained that the driveway 00:22:31.329 --> 00:22:34.150 concrete was poured over existing rocks. So it 00:22:34.150 --> 00:22:36.549 picked them up as it set. But it created enough 00:22:36.549 --> 00:22:39.150 doubt to say maybe he really did just fix the 00:22:39.150 --> 00:22:41.410 driveway. And Jaragos also pushed a third party 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:43.450 theory, right? Yeah. That someone else did it. 00:22:43.490 --> 00:22:46.450 The mystery van. Defense witnesses claim they 00:22:46.450 --> 00:22:49.029 saw a suspicious van in the neighborhood. And 00:22:49.029 --> 00:22:51.230 they claim some neighbors saw Lacey walking the 00:22:51.230 --> 00:22:53.769 dog after Scott had already left for Berkeley. 00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:56.720 So they tried to break that 10 .18 a .m. timeline. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:59.720 They had to. But the prosecution rebutted that 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:02.920 eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:05.279 They pointed out that there were 74 reported 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.240 sightings of Lacey in 26 different states after 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:10.640 she went missing. People see what they want to 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:13.579 see. The hard data they stuck to was the dog 00:23:13.579 --> 00:23:17.400 being found at 10 .18 a .m. In the end, the jury 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:21.430 sided with the prosecution. November 2004. Guilty 00:23:21.430 --> 00:23:23.589 of first -degree murder for Lacey and second 00:23:23.589 --> 00:23:25.990 -degree for Connor. And he gets the death penalty. 00:23:26.269 --> 00:23:28.970 It was a massive verdict. The whole country was 00:23:28.970 --> 00:23:31.970 watching. But that wasn't the end of the legal 00:23:31.970 --> 00:23:34.730 road, not by a long shot. And this brings us 00:23:34.730 --> 00:23:37.529 to the modern era of the case. Right. Because 00:23:37.529 --> 00:23:40.509 in 2020, 20 years later, the death penalty is 00:23:40.509 --> 00:23:43.779 overturned. Why? This was a technicality regarding 00:23:43.779 --> 00:23:46.380 jury selection. The California Supreme Court 00:23:46.380 --> 00:23:48.859 ruled that the trial judge had improperly dismissed 00:23:48.859 --> 00:23:51.240 jurors who said they opposed the death penalty 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:53.779 in principle without asking them if they could 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:55.940 still set aside those views and follow the law. 00:23:56.119 --> 00:23:57.920 So it wasn't about guilt or innocence? Not at 00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:00.180 all. It was a procedural error, so the conviction 00:24:00.180 --> 00:24:02.759 stood but the sentence was tossed. And in 2021, 00:24:03.099 --> 00:24:05.180 he was resentenced to life in prison without 00:24:05.180 --> 00:24:08.480 parole. Scott Peterson was officially moved off 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:11.380 death row. But his teams didn't stop there. They 00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:13.980 filed a habeas corpus petition. And this was 00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:16.619 all about juror number seven. Rochelle Nice. 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.180 She became known as Strawberry Shortcake because 00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:21.380 of her bright red hair during the trial. The 00:24:21.380 --> 00:24:23.819 defense accused her of lying on her jury questionnaire 00:24:23.819 --> 00:24:27.970 to get on the jury. She checked no. On a box 00:24:27.970 --> 00:24:30.049 asking if she had ever been a victim of a crime, 00:24:30.109 --> 00:24:32.490 is that right? Correct. But it turned out that 00:24:32.490 --> 00:24:34.829 years prior, while she was pregnant, she had 00:24:34.829 --> 00:24:37.509 been in a domestic violence situation. She had 00:24:37.509 --> 00:24:40.109 filed for a restraining order against her boyfriend's 00:24:40.109 --> 00:24:42.950 ex -girlfriend. So the defense argued she was 00:24:42.950 --> 00:24:45.569 biased. She wanted to punish Scott because of 00:24:45.569 --> 00:24:48.170 her own trauma. That was the argument, that she 00:24:48.170 --> 00:24:50.950 was a stealth juror. This went to a big hearing 00:24:50.950 --> 00:24:54.349 in late 2022. I remember this being a huge deal. 00:24:54.410 --> 00:24:56.109 It felt like it could really overturn everything. 00:24:56.390 --> 00:24:59.829 It did. But Judge Anne -Christine Masilo ultimately 00:24:59.829 --> 00:25:02.529 ruled against Scott. She said that while Rochelle 00:25:02.529 --> 00:25:04.849 Nice's answers were false, they were the result 00:25:04.849 --> 00:25:07.589 of sloppiness and a misunderstanding of the legal 00:25:07.589 --> 00:25:10.430 questions, not an intentional plan to get on 00:25:10.430 --> 00:25:12.869 the jury to convict him. So the new trial was 00:25:12.869 --> 00:25:15.470 denied. OK, so that brings us to the developments 00:25:15.470 --> 00:25:18.450 that have everyone talking in 2024 and 2025. 00:25:19.250 --> 00:25:22.690 The Los Angeles Innocence Project takes the case. 00:25:22.809 --> 00:25:25.150 And this is significant because the Innocence 00:25:25.150 --> 00:25:28.049 Project is very, very selective. They don't take 00:25:28.049 --> 00:25:30.769 cases unless they feel there is a genuine avenue 00:25:30.769 --> 00:25:34.369 for exoneration, usually through new DNA evidence. 00:25:34.730 --> 00:25:37.170 So what is their angle? What new evidence are 00:25:37.170 --> 00:25:40.029 they pointing to? They moved away from the timeline 00:25:40.029 --> 00:25:42.470 and the germ misconduct and focused on physical 00:25:42.470 --> 00:25:44.970 evidence that was never tested with modern technology. 00:25:45.650 --> 00:25:48.750 Specifically, that piece of duct tape found on 00:25:48.750 --> 00:25:51.490 Lacey's pants during the autopsy. They think 00:25:51.490 --> 00:25:54.349 there might be DNA on the sticky side. From someone 00:25:54.349 --> 00:25:57.650 else. Exactly. If there is DNA on that tape that 00:25:57.650 --> 00:26:00.269 belongs to a third party, a known sex offender, 00:26:00.269 --> 00:26:03.009 for example, or one of the burglars, that blows 00:26:03.009 --> 00:26:04.890 the case wide open. And they also brought up 00:26:04.890 --> 00:26:07.390 a burglary. Yes. There was a burglary across 00:26:07.390 --> 00:26:09.609 the street from the Peterson home. The police 00:26:09.609 --> 00:26:12.029 always said it happened on December 26, two days 00:26:12.029 --> 00:26:15.029 after Lacey disappeared. The Innocence Project 00:26:15.029 --> 00:26:17.529 argued there is evidence it happened on the 24th 00:26:17.529 --> 00:26:19.730 and that Lacey might have stumbled upon the burglars. 00:26:19.849 --> 00:26:22.359 That's a huge claim. It is. And they pointed 00:26:22.359 --> 00:26:24.920 to a burned out van that was found nearby with 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:27.480 a bloodstained mattress inside. They wanted that 00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:30.400 mattress tested. So what did the court say? This 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:32.299 has been a roller coaster over the last two years. 00:26:32.460 --> 00:26:36.599 It really has. In May 2024, the judge gave them 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:39.599 a mixed bag. She granted the DNA testing on the 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:42.039 duct tape. That was a big win for them. OK. But 00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:44.160 she rejected the request for the other items 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:46.460 like the mattress from the van. So they are testing 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:49.680 the tape. Yes. Then in October 2024, the judge 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:52.319 granted them post -conviction discovery, which 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:54.759 means they got access to a trove of police files 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:56.740 they claimed were suppressed at the original 00:26:56.740 --> 00:27:00.180 trial. But then came the big blow in June of 00:27:00.180 --> 00:27:02.720 2025. Just about eight months ago. Yeah. The 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:06.019 appeals court denied a massive 140 page petition 00:27:06.019 --> 00:27:08.559 from the Innocence Project that claimed evidence 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:10.859 suppression. They basically ruled that the defense 00:27:10.859 --> 00:27:13.619 hadn't met the high burden of proof needed to 00:27:13.619 --> 00:27:15.660 overturn the conviction on those grounds. So 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:18.700 where does that leave us today in February 2026? 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:21.319 We are in a holding pattern. We are waiting on 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:24.059 the final definitive scientific results of that 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:26.160 DNA testing on the duct tape. And that's everything. 00:27:26.339 --> 00:27:29.380 That's the whole. If it comes back inconclusive 00:27:29.380 --> 00:27:32.380 or if it matches Lacey or Scott, the road is 00:27:32.380 --> 00:27:34.200 likely at an end for him if it matches someone 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:37.299 else. We are looking at a whole new chapter in 00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:39.380 this saga. It's just incredible that after more 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:42.240 than two decades, we are still looking at tiny 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:45.549 pieces of tape. and debating timelines down to 00:27:45.549 --> 00:27:47.529 the minute. That is the legacy of this case. 00:27:47.710 --> 00:27:49.950 It really changed how we view circumstantial 00:27:49.950 --> 00:27:51.890 evidence, and it showed how a case without a 00:27:51.890 --> 00:27:54.910 single smoking gun can still result in a conviction 00:27:54.910 --> 00:27:57.970 if the volume of circumstances is overwhelming. 00:27:58.369 --> 00:28:01.130 It also changed the law, Lacey and Conner's law. 00:28:01.390 --> 00:28:03.670 The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, signed by 00:28:03.670 --> 00:28:06.690 President Bush in 2004. It officially recognized 00:28:06.690 --> 00:28:09.650 a fetus as a legal victim if injured or killed 00:28:09.650 --> 00:28:11.390 during the commission of a crime against the 00:28:11.390 --> 00:28:13.869 mother. That is a direct result of this case. 00:28:14.049 --> 00:28:15.589 And culturally, I mean, looking at the source 00:28:15.589 --> 00:28:17.950 notes, the comparisons to Gone Girl are everywhere. 00:28:18.369 --> 00:28:20.769 Gillian Flynn denied it was a direct inspiration, 00:28:20.890 --> 00:28:24.269 but the parallels, the media circus, the seemingly 00:28:24.269 --> 00:28:27.170 perfect but duplicitous husband, the public turning 00:28:27.170 --> 00:28:30.910 against him, it's all undeniable. This case created 00:28:30.910 --> 00:28:33.049 the template for the modern true crime obsession. 00:28:33.450 --> 00:28:35.950 And financially, it ended with Scott losing everything. 00:28:36.349 --> 00:28:38.750 The life insurance policy went to Lacey's mom, 00:28:38.990 --> 00:28:41.369 Sharon Rocha. As it should, under what's called 00:28:41.369 --> 00:28:44.150 the Slayer Rule. You can't profit from a murder 00:28:44.150 --> 00:28:46.430 you committed. He was also ordered to pay for 00:28:46.430 --> 00:28:49.230 the funeral costs. So let's try to synthesize 00:28:49.230 --> 00:28:52.609 this. We have a deeply sympathetic victim, a 00:28:52.609 --> 00:28:55.450 deceptive and unfaithful husband, and a massive 00:28:55.450 --> 00:28:57.809 body of evidence that is overwhelming in its 00:28:57.809 --> 00:29:00.849 volume. but lacks that one definitive piece. 00:29:01.069 --> 00:29:03.130 That's the perfect summary. It's a puzzle where 00:29:03.130 --> 00:29:05.170 you have 95 % of the pieces. You can clearly 00:29:05.170 --> 00:29:07.289 see the picture is a duck, but you don't have 00:29:07.289 --> 00:29:08.970 the piece with the beak. And for some people, 00:29:08.970 --> 00:29:11.089 that missing beak is enough to say, maybe it's 00:29:11.089 --> 00:29:12.829 a rabbit. But looking at the widower comment, 00:29:13.170 --> 00:29:16.009 the secret boat, the fishing trip, the dyed hair, 00:29:16.150 --> 00:29:19.170 and the cash, it's a very, very convincing duck. 00:29:19.349 --> 00:29:21.829 It is. It's an incredibly compelling circumstantial 00:29:21.829 --> 00:29:24.250 case. Before we go, I want to leave the listeners 00:29:24.250 --> 00:29:26.339 with something to think about. You mentioned 00:29:26.339 --> 00:29:29.220 earlier the difference between factual innocence 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:32.880 and legal guilt. Could you expand on that? Yes. 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:35.440 The Innocence Project isn't always arguing that 00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:38.779 a person is a saint or a good person. They are 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:42.099 testing the integrity of the system itself. If 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:44.339 we convicted Scott Peterson based on a timeline 00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:46.839 that was off by 20 minutes, or if we ignored 00:29:46.839 --> 00:29:49.480 a piece of DNA evidence on a piece of tape, that 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:51.700 matters for every case that comes after, not 00:29:51.700 --> 00:29:54.339 just his. The question isn't just, did he do 00:29:54.339 --> 00:29:56.839 it? The question is, did we prove it the right 00:29:56.839 --> 00:29:59.380 way beyond a reasonable doubt following all the 00:29:59.380 --> 00:30:01.609 rules? So it's about the process. It's about 00:30:01.609 --> 00:30:04.369 the integrity of the process. So even if that 00:30:04.369 --> 00:30:07.670 tape yields nothing, this case will always stand 00:30:07.670 --> 00:30:10.289 as this monument to the power and the peril of 00:30:10.289 --> 00:30:12.849 circumstantial evidence. A chilling thought to 00:30:12.849 --> 00:30:15.549 end on. If you want to dive deeper into the timeline 00:30:15.549 --> 00:30:18.210 or read the full legal rulings we discussed today, 00:30:18.410 --> 00:30:20.670 you can always check Source Notes. Always check 00:30:20.670 --> 00:30:22.509 the sources. Thanks for listening to The Deep 00:30:22.509 --> 00:30:23.730 Dive. We'll see you next time.