LOS ANGELES — The LA Innocence Project has taken on the case of Scott Peterson, the California man convicted of killing his wife Laci and their unborn son, Conner, in 2004.
ABC News reports the group – which says it works to exonerate the wrongly convicted and free the unjustly incarcerated – is seeking new evidence from the original trial.
Laci disappeared from the couple’s Modesto home on Christmas Eve 2002 and was reported missing by Scott. The remains of her and her unborn son were found in April 2003 in the San Francisco Bay.
Peterson was arrested and charged with killing the two before being convicted of their murders in November 2004. He was sentenced to death in 2005 but it was changed to life in prison without parole after the California Supreme Court overturned the sentence in 2020 due to the jury being improperly screened for bias against the death penalty.
Peterson had long maintained his innocence with his legal team saying the trial was unfair due to possible jury misconduct. They claim a juror didn’t disclose her involvement in other proceedings.
ABC News says the evidence the LA Innocence Project is seeking to get involves a burglary that happened across the street from the Peterson's home between the time of Laci’s disappearance and December 26, including interviews done by police and eyewitness accounts; contacts related to the investigation into Laci’s missing watch; and details on the investigation into a 2002 Christmas Day van fire.
ABC News reports the van was found Christmas morning near the Modesto airport and a blood-soaked mattress was inside. At the time police released a statement saying the van was related to the burglary.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: California judge rejects new murder trial for Scott Peterson
