Sharon Rocha is talking about how she feels about her ex-son-in-law’s request for a new hearing. At the hearing on Monday, former Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager read out loud a victim impact statement made by Rocha, who is the mother of murder victim Laci Peterson:
“I haven’t seen or talked to my daughter in almost 22 years.” His wife was killed by her husband. She was killed by the person she loved very much. He has been back in court many times since his conviction in 2004 to try to get it canceled.
Every time he tries to get away, it’s like ripping the bandage off a wound caused by his family’s pain. He keeps putting in claim after claim. Over and over. I don’t think this is about showing he is innocent. Instead, I think it’s about his never-ending quest to get out of prison. When is this going to end?”
Scott Peterson is in prison for life without the chance of release for killing Laci, his eight-month-pregnant wife, and their unborn child in 2002. Peterson used Zoom to show up at Monday’s meeting.
After the arguments from last week, it was decided that a lab called Pure Gold Forensics could test a piece of duct tape found on Laci’s pants when her body was found for DNA.
Both the defense and the prosecution wanted to use labs of their own choice, but Judge Elizabeth Hill of the San Mateo County Superior Court offered a different, separate facility. The lawyers were given a few days to look into Pure Gold’s qualifications on their own, and they all agreed.
For an extra $2,500 per day, Judge Hill also said that a professional would be hired to watch over the things. Both sides also made cases for swab tests versus tests at the Microbiome Analysis Center (MBAC). Because they were afraid that swabbing would damage the proof, the defense asked for MBAC testing. In the end, the defense decided that they would swab first and then do MBAC.
One piece of evidence out of many that the judge agreed could be tested was a 15.5-inch length of duct tape. The Los Angeles Innocence Project is now representing Peterson, who is 51 years old. In May, they tried to get more than a dozen pieces of evidence DNA tested but failed.
The LAIP is hoping that the DNA on the duct tape will help them find a different suspect besides Peterson. He might have another chance to prove his case if someone else’s DNA is found on that tape.
In court again on Tuesday, Peterson was scheduled to take part in a motion hearing about his right to see discovery papers. The things in this pile include proof of a break-in at the house across the street from the Petersons in December 2002, Laci’s lost watch, and different papers.
The LAIP has filed a lot of motions since January, when they took over Peterson’s case, to get as much proof as possible. Their final goal is to get Peterson a new trial and clear him of all charges.
Laci, who was 27 years old, was last seen on Christmas Eve 2002. There was a body and a baby inside her that washed up on San Francisco Bay in April 2003. Peterson still says that he went fishing at Berkeley Marina on December 24, 2002, and Laci was nowhere to be found when he got back home.
The defense has asked to see all the evidence in the case, which is more than 645 items. They say that the district attorney’s office has been hiding evidence that they should be able to see. The prosecution wants the judge not to review the case because they say the defense’s sources and claims are not true.
Peterson was given a new term of life in prison without the chance of parole in 2021. His sentence was changed from death row to Mule Creek State Prison in 2022, and that’s where he is now. Peterson’s defense tried to get a new trial based on claims that jurors had been unfair that same year, but they were not successful.
Peterson has said he is innocent for more than 20 years. He was given the death penalty in 2005, but in 2020, the California Supreme Court overturned it because it turned out that possible jurors were wrongly turned away from the case.