She was eight months pregnant when she had her first baby, a boy. Scott PetersonAlready named Conner, Laci was last seen alive on Dec. 24, 2002—several weeks AfterScott told his mistress. Amber FreyHe knew he was going to be having his first Christmas after his wife died. Scott told Amber when they first met that he had just been widowed.
Laci was reported missing two days earlier by Karen Servas, a neighbor. Modesto Bee. “He was quite quiet. Unprompted, he looked at me as he went out and stated, “Oh, my goodness, I picked a name.” The baby will be named Conner.
Servas said that Christmas was a time when he went to the TV and watched the news. A number of people were there—Laci’s friends, Scott and Scott’s mom and dad had just gotten into town. Scott suggested that I stay after the announcement. We will have dinner. I replied, “No, no, I don’t eat meat” because someone had placed a turkey on the counter. It was really difficult for me to feel. “I just wanted to get home.”
Laci’s remains washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay area in April 2003—and on the same day they were positively identified, Scott was arrested for murder.
Although he maintained his innocence, a jury found him guilty of the murders and involuntary deaths of his unborn child and sentenced him death. In August 2020, the California Supreme Court overturned the sentence, agreeing with the defense that there may have been an issue during jury selection that prevented the death penalty from being properly applied. In October, the high court also ordered a review of Scott’s conviction, and there is a possibility that he could be granted a new trial. Scott was sent back to prison for life on December 8, 2021.