Saran Chatterjee SVP, Product | realtors.com
On Christmas Eve 2002, an eight-months-pregnant Laci Peterson was reported missing from the Modesto, CA, home she shared with her husband, Scott.
Her disappearance—and her family’s desperate search for her—drew national media attention to the couple’s quaint community. This community was left shattered when the bodies of Laci and her unborn child were discovered washed up on the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay four months later.
Suspicion quickly turned to Peterson, who, after a lengthy and highly publicized trial, was ultimately convicted of murdering his wife and son.
Now, 22 years later, Netflix has released a three-part documentary series titled “American Murder: Laci Peterson.” It features interviews with detectives, jurors, and attorneys involved in the infamous trial and Peterson’s eventual murder conviction. Peterson’s mistress, Amber Frey, also breaks her silence on their affair in the docuseries.
In the trailer for the series, Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha, reveals her initial thoughts about Scott when Laci told her about him. “Laci was telling me all these things about Scott. And I remember saying, as her mother, ‘I hope he’s not filling her with crap,'” she says in the trailer.
Rocha filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Scott in 2003 but withdrew it in 2009.
In addition to the Netflix series, a new Peacock documentary titled ‘Face to Face with Scott Peterson‘ will air on Aug. 20.
The house where the Petersons lived has seen significant changes over time. Laci and Scott purchased their three-bedroom, 1,770-square-foot family residence in Modesto in 2000 for $177,000. It sold a few years after the murders in 2005 for $390,000. The buyer eventually declared bankruptcy and lost the home to foreclosure in 2007. The house was sold that year by the lender for $280,000—a precipitous drop of 28% in two years.
In 2013, the residence sold again at an even steeper discount for just $180,000. The dramatic decline suggests there was still a stigma surrounding the house even a decade after Laci’s disappearance.
However, when it resurfaced on the market a few years ago during a housing boom in March 2022 for $459,888 it sold within a month for $510,000. When listed for sale this time around there was no mention of its past; California law requires disclosure of deaths occurring within three years or any known death if asked by potential buyers but there was never proof that Laci was murdered inside this home.
Listing details from 2022 described having a remodeled kitchen worthy of being called “chef’s dream” alongside features like backyard pool which helped sell place over asking price within just three weeks
Scott initially claimed he returned home from Christmas Day fishing trip only finding his wife missing along with their dog running around dragging its leash backyard. Prosecutors later revealed he had instead gone nearly an hour-and-a-half away Berkeley Marina using boat unknown family members while telling neighbor going golfing instead
The massive search following Laci's disappearance attracted nationwide attention until four months later remains found San Francisco Bay first their unborn son Connor then followed by hers near Brooks Island
When police arrested then-30-year-old near San Diego appearance changed drastically having dyed hair blonde carrying $15k cash He admitted affair massage therapist Amber Frey testifying during five-month trial lied being unmarried She reportedly lives Fresno works wellness industry today Despite pleading not guilty convicted both counts murder sentenced death initially but resentenced life without parole overturning sentence back2020
Peterson maintains innocence filing appeal last year due juror Richelle Nice aka Strawberry Shortcake failed disclose restraining order filed recently threatened pregnant Though denied enlisted help LA Innocence Project retry case new evidence including DNA asking judge perform tests material burned-out van found burglary near home
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